United Cutlery

Z

~Zondervan66~

Joined
Aug 13, 2011
Messages
27
Has anyone ever heard of United Cutlery, if so, how would you rank them. Specific knives would be great. Thanks.
 
Ignore them completely. Terrible knives, flea market quality. Lowest of the food chain (in the knife community). :D
 
I would rank them below broken glass but above the plastic tab thingies that keep bread bags closed in terms of quality, cutting ability, and design.


In other words, don't waste your money.
 
The thing with UC is that they're a HUGE volume company, the quality ranges from the worst of the worst, to a few half decent knives. I'd wager to say most folks have heard of them, and unless they come out with a particularly interesting model you want, it's best to look elsewhere for quality cutlery.
 
Many years ago I purchased a United boot knife. What I really like about it is the thickness of the blade (3/16 ths of an inch), the nice taper of the blade (pointy but not too pointy), the length and width of the blade (4 7/8ths of an inch long, 7/8ths wide), and the full-length tang. One of the main things I really like about it is that the blade is thick all the way to the very tip, unlike every other production dagger that I could find (including the SOG Desert Dagger) that had tips so thin they looked like they would break if you yelled at them real loud. I wanted a stout dagger that could actually withstand being used without snapping. Actually, the tip was too thick for my tastes and I had to grind it down to get it the way I wanted it (still thick).

Surprisingly, the knife is also pretty strong. Before I sharpened it (naturally it came as dull as a butter knife), I tested it by repeatedly stabbing it into a piece of wood as hard as I could, each time having to pry it out (I really wanted to see what it could take). And it didn't break.

I still have that knife, and though I like quality knives, and though most of my knives cost from $100 to $300, I'm not ashamed to say that my United boot knife is one of my favorites (due in part to the fact that I replaced the original handle with the handle from my SOG DD). Sometimes even a cheapo knife from a low level manufacturer can be a pleasant surprise and serve you well (no, I've never "used" the dagger).

Of course I can't speak for any of their other knives.
 
I was a knife retailer for quite a while and, though they definitely populate a very low place on the list ranking quality, there are some designs you simply can't screw up. You get what you pay for and many of their products are not even a good value, but if you know what you're getting into, there are some fun toys to be had. Their gil hibben line are pretty good value for throwers in the learning stage (where you might lose a few), and I have to admit I own a couple of their movie replicas, simply because they're not available anywhere else. I'd certainly never use or carry a UC knife for any kind of practical application, but they have their niche. I just wish they didn't make knives that people might mistake for useful so people had fewer companies to avoid.

Edit: As seen in the post above, that might be an example of a knife they can't screw up. There's no way their steel is going to compare to "good" steels, but you wouldn't expect it to for the price either.
 
Vanguard41xx said:
Difference of opinion, but both are pretty damn low on quality so it doesn't matter. :D
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Unlike Frost Cutlery, United Cutlery was a true feeder company that has introduced many to the world of custom knives and knife collecting. Few had heard of Gil Hibbens, or Jack Crain, before their names were popularized by United Cutlery. For me their Indiana Jones Khyber-Bowie had a pretty significant impact. The thing itself was an interesting wall hanger at best, and I knew that when I bought it. But, on the side of the box were printed these words:

"Yesterday, during a period of intensive research on ancient medieval weapondry, I began to notice the significant appearance and re-appearance of one particular knife style. The khyber. I became so intrigued with this design that I rushed to the archives to find a particular knife I had acquired in Egypt. It served as a machete on one of my expiditions in the jungles of South America..."

For kicks I decided to take them up on their challenge and to research the term "Khyber knife" (this was before internet). This led me to discover Bernard Levine's Guide to Knives and Their Values, which had an image of a real khyber knife, and then to every antique store in the area where I eventually found my first antique khyber knife, as well as, my first antique yataghan, which was also sold to me as a "khyber knife." That was the start of a library which would grow into the hundreds of volumes, and I have since purchased hundreds of antique knives from all over the world.

So I wouldn't lump United Cutlery into the same category as Frost Cutlery. There quality of build may have been about the same, but their marketing and licensing agreements were first rate.

n2s
 
Both United Cutlery and Frost Cutlery knives were fairly popular at the power plants where I worked before retiring, and I would feel safe in wagering that the same holds true most places where whatever knife you carry is going to wind up getting much more abuse than use. Why ruin a $75 knife when a $10 one will do just as well, especially when the knife in question is most likely going to wind up getting lost or broken long before it wears out? I had a Frost knockoff of a lightweight Buck lockback that served me satisfactorily for a year before falling into a slag grinder. I would much rather lose it than one of my more expensive knives.
 
terrible company just like frost, taylor, etc but back in the day (1970s) their stuff wasnt all that bad
 
A bit late but....One of my favorite knives is a united cutlery designed by george lainhart. It's in ats-34 and I have yet to find a log it can't split. It does as good or better than my widely accepted knives.
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As most have said, I also stay away from their products. I have been tempted a few times with "Colt" licensed knives, but I resisted. If I want an inexpensive fixed blade, I lean toward Condor or Kabar products in carbon steel if I like the design.
 
I have a red bone 'handi-razor' jack knife with a shield that says "United Boker" Was that the same company, United -in partnership with Boker? The knife is from the seventies, I think. Did United used to make quality knives? I know Boker does, and that little pocket knife has held up pretty well.
 
United cutlery makes some very inexpensive carbon steel swords ($50) usually under the united black name. Anyone have any opinions on these. I would like a very inexpensive sword to play around with before I decide if it is something I really want to spend more money on.
 
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